Sunday, October 4, 2015

Week 5 College Football Recap: Rankings, Heisman, Playoff Projections

College football is officially bananas. I am going to rip
up my previous top 25 polls and start over each week. There is no reason to
have preconceived notions about any team. I mean, Ole Miss got spanked by
Florida, who could barely take care of East Carolina. Ohio State looks pretty
awful every week, yet I still have them #1 for some reason. Michigan State can’t
put away freaking Purdue. LSU seemed totally content letting Eastern Michigan put up 20+ points. I’m done with the past. I’m starting fresh.

25 (NR). Memphis (5-0)
– The Tigers have one of the top offenses in the nation. We will see how
true that statement is when they host Ole Miss after their bye next week.

24 (NR). California
(5-0) – They struggled with both Washington schools, but they have
survived. They are an offense that no one really wants to deal with in the
Pac-12.

23 (7). Georgia (4-1)
– They got humbled by Alabama at home with all the hype and even gave
points in Vegas. Mark Richt will never win the big one.

22 (22). Florida
State (4-0) – They still have not lost a game in the ACC since NC State
upended the unbeaten Seminoles in 2012. It is a weak conference, but still.
They just keep winning.

21 (NR). Mississippi
(4-1) – I accidentally left them off last week, so that is how you can get shellacked
and move into my top 25. It seemed fluky watching them get dismantled by the
Gators, but it was emphatic.

20 (19). Boise
State (4-1) – This is a team that will probably not lose the rest of the
season. Their loss at BYU seems more and more confusing.

19 (18). Oklahoma
State (5-0) – They survived a scare from the well-coached Kansas State
squad looking for the upset. No one really knows what to make of this team.

18 (NR). Iowa (5-0)
– The Hawkeyes were able to get out of Madison with a win…you can’t say
that about many teams in the last decade. It was ugly, but that is how they
win.

17 (6). UCLA (4-1)
– The Bruins came in thinking of national titles after crushing Arizona on
the road under the lights, but then the favor was returned by the seemingly
dead in the water Sun Devils.

16 (11). USC (3-1)
– IDLE.

15 (2). Notre Dame
(4-1) – Their wins do not have the same luster they seemed to previously,
but they had a nice comeback attempt against a really good Clemson team.

14 (9). Oklahoma (4-0)
– At some point, the defense for the Sooners has got to start playing. West
Virginia looked lost, which is rare for them. They were lucky to have such a
big win because they really didn’t play all that well overall.

13 (14). Alabama (4-1)
– Yes, they stomped all over Georgia, but their loss to Ole Miss loses some
of its prestige seeing the Rebels get kicked around by Florida.

12 (10). Stanford (4-1)
– This team might be playing at the highest level of any team in the
country at this moment. They are going to be right there in the thick of the
playoff hunt when all of the teams get a loss (and they all will).

11 (12). Northwestern
(5-0) – They are going to be the ones helping Stanford get there if they can
keep shutting teams out and winning in that beautiful Big Ten West way.

10 (16). Baylor (4-0)
– They simply cannot be held under 8 touchdowns. They are going to terrify
every team they line up against.

9 (NR). Florida (5-0)
– I am still stunned by the beating they put on the Rebels on Saturday.
They aren’t that good, are they? Maybe they are?

8 (1). Ohio State (5-0)
– They have flashes of being the team that was the obvious national championship
pick, but they just can’t get off to a good start. They will lose one very
soon.

7 (24). Michigan (4-1)
– After a second straight shutout, it seems clear that Harbaugh has the
team right back where it was before Hoke. They might win the conference.

6 (21). Clemson (4-0)
– After a couple underwhelming efforts, Clemson proved that they can really
play well against elite competition (unless that team is South Carolina).

5 (5). Michigan
State (5-0) – You just can’t let Purdue score 21 points in a row in the
second half and expect to be able to beat legitimate Power 5 conference teams.
They will lose one soon.

4 (8). LSU (4-0) –
The Tigers looked pretty bad against Eastern Michigan. If they didn’t have a
horse at running back, they would look very ordinary. But they do have him, and
he alone makes them maybe the team to beat in the country.

3 (13). Texas
A&M (5-0) – You would be hard pressed to find a team that has looked
more impressive on paper and on the field than the Aggies. They are incredibly
exciting to watch too.

2 (3). Utah (4-0)
– IDLE.

1 (4). TCU (5-0) –
Oh, Texas hahaha… The Frogs got life from that miracle win last week, and they
are going to charge toward a playoff berth the rest of the way.

Top 5 Games
for Next Weekend

5. Navy at Notre
Dame (#15) – This is always a good game, and Keenan Reynolds is going for
the FBS rushing TD record and is still unbeaten. It should be quite a show.

PREDICTION: Notre Dame 24-20

4. Florida (#9) at
Missouri – Missouri is not an easy place to play, and Florida is coming off
their biggest win in years. This is a sneaky good game here.

PREDICTION: Florida 17-14

3. TCU (#1) at
Kansas State – This is the type of overlooked game that could give the
Frogs issues. K-State can lull you to sleep with their fundamentals, but they
are always somehow in the game. Watch out for this one…

PREDICTION: TCU 27-25

2. California
(#24) at Utah (#2) – Utah got a week off to prepare for the high paced
Golden Bear attack, but that might slow their momentum as well. It is almost
impossible to win in Salt Lake, though.

PREDICTION: Utah 35-24

1. Northwestern
(#11) at Michigan (#7) – This is going to be an ugly game offensively, but
it is going to be a beautiful football game featuring two teams who have
multiple shutouts through five games.

PREDICTION: Michigan 13-9

Heisman
Trophy Watch

5. Nick Chubb, RB,
Georgia – The loss hurt his team’s chances, but he extended his all time
Georgia-best streak of 100 yard games. He is one of the elite players and will
be invited if he keeps it up.

4. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State – If they have finally figured out
that all they need to do is hand the ball to the beast, then he will be in this
discussion by season’s end.

3. Baker Mayfield,
QB, Oklahoma – He is more of a dark horse contender, but he really is
rolling in that air raid offense in Norman.

2. Trevone Boykin,
QB, TCU – He is already setting records at TCU, and his numbers this year
are only going to get better the deeper he gets into Big 12 play.

1. Leonard
Fournette, RB, LSU – Unless he gets injured or completely shut down by
someone, he is going to run away with this thing.